Many applications involve the use of a material which acts as a carrier, dispersant, diluents, processing aid, and/or solvent for an active component or components. The carrier/dispersant/diluents/processing aid/solvent (hereinafter referred to sometimes as “carrier” for convenience) must be able to at least facilitate and preferably enhance the delivery and/or functioning of at least one of the active components at the location of intended use, and at the same time such carrier should not negatively interfere with the operation of the active components. Because the carrier will frequently in such situations be released into the open atmosphere upon use, the environmental properties of the carrier materials have become increasingly important as the concern about the environmental impact of man-made materials and activities has risen. For example, during the course of the past several years, substantial effort has been devoted to developing materials which have a much smaller impact on global warming and on depletion of the ozone layer in the field of refrigeration, for example. Furthermore, the release of materials into the atmosphere can have a negative impact on low-level atmospheric conditions, such as smog and haze.
In addition to favorable environmental properties, the material which is used for the carrier preferably also has a desirable but difficult to achieve combination of other properties, depending on the particular application, such as inertness with respect to the active ingredient(s), low toxicity and low flammability, among other properties. In many applications it is also either desirable or essential that the carrier have the ability to at least partially emulsify and/or to preferably at least partially solvate the active ingredient.
These and other needs are satisfied by preferred aspects of the present invention.